Crate-form.



No. 689,8I3.

Patented Dec. 24, |90.'

E. DECDW & J STEWART.

CRATE FORM.

(Appummn med :um 12, 1901.)

(lo Ilodeli) a Q 6 m fumes Sizrt,

UNITED 'STATES PATENT FFICE.

EBER DECOW AND JAMES STEWART, OF VASSAR, MICHIGAN.

CRATE-FORM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 689,813, dated December 24, 190 1.

Application filed June 12,1901. Serial No.64,329. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that we, EBEE' DECOW and JAMES STEWART, citizens of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Vassar; in the county of Tuscola and State of l\[ichigan,'have in= vented certain new and useful Improvements in Crate-Making Machines, ofY which the following is a specification', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of our machine with a completed crate on the form; Fig. 2, a de tail View of one of the slat holding or'clamping frames; Fig. 3, a side elevation of Fig. 1 ;v

Fig. 4, a detail vertical section through the guide-tube in the center; Fig. 5, a horizontal section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a perspective View in detail of the form, three of the corner-posts being removed 'and shown in dotted lines; Fig. 7, a perspective view of a cra-te madeV on our machine, Vthe crate being turned bottom side up, the position in which it is made on the form; Fig. 8, a horizontal section taken on the line 8 8 of Fig. 3.

The object of this`invention is to provide a simple machine for assembling and'holding in position the side and end slats and corner! posts and corner-strips of crates whilethe parts arebeingnailed, whereby these crates may be rapidly and cheaply assembled, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

The machine is supported on legs l, which are connected togetherat their upper ends by a platform 2, screwed into the center of 5 which is an upright split tube 3. The form or former rests upon and is rotatable on platform 2, its base-plate 4 being provided with a central opening up through which tube 3 extends, said tube serving as a pivot around which the form may be revolved by the hand of one of the operators for convenience in nailing. The top frame or plate 5 of the form is connected to and supported on the baseplate by the corner-posts 6 and has its upper outer corners beveled at 7. The outer corners of the post 6 are beveled or inclined their full length, as at S, these beveled or inclined sides meeting the horizontal inclined sides 7 formed on the top plate or frame. On the base-plate 4, coincident with each inclined face 8, is a triangular lug 9, and this baseplate 4 at Veach side edge is also provided with a pair of integral depending ears 10, in which is pivoted a shaft 11, carrying at its ends a pair ofarins12,which norlnallyinclineupward and outward and are provided on their inner upper faces with Slat-receiving notches 13. Each shaft l1 is provided with an inward and upward extending iingerli, which terminates near the 4central tube 3 and engages under a disk 15. v Engaging disk 15 are four radial lugs 16, carried by a block 17, working vertieallyv-in the tube 3, said lugs 16 working through the slits in the tube and resting on top of disk 15. The disk 15 is provided with a central opening, which permits it toslide vertically on tube 3. The block 17 is connected by the rod 18 to a foot-lever 19, pivotally supported at the base of the supporting-frame and adapted to be held in its depressed position by ratchet 19'.

The slats for the 'sides and ends of the crate are placed in notches 1'3 and are then thrown up against the rectangular form by depressing foot-lever 19, this action serving to depress ingers 14 and throw the Slat-carrying frames simultaneously up against the form. The wooden triangular corner-posts 20 of the crate are clamped against the inclined faces 8 by the slats, and the inside wooden cornerstrips v21 of the crate, which are triangular in cross-section also, are held against ,inclined faces7 of the top frame by the uppermost slats. After the side slats arethus thrown up and the corner-posts 20 and horizontal strips 21 are in place against their respective inclined supports the crate is ready for nailing. The side and end slats are nailed to the corner-posts, and two or more of them are in addition nailed to the horizontal strips 21. The top slats of the crate (or those which are to form the bottom of the crate when the same is inishedand removed and inverted) are nailed to strips 2l, two or more of these strips being employed, two being shown in Fig. 7. [n nailing the crate the nails will be clenched by striking against the inclined faces 7 and 8, and these faces are therefore to be made of a suitable hard metal. l t

The crate corner-posts 2O rest ou lugs 9, so that their upper ends are raised above the uppermost slats and their lower ends are cor respondingly raised above the edges of the lowest slats. The reason for this is that when ICO the crate is removed and inverted its projecting ends will form legs or supports for the crate and, furthermore, when the crates are stacked for storage or transportation the legs of one crate will fit down nicely into the corners of the crate next below and rest upon the depressed upper ends of the corner-posts of the crate below, thereby partially nesting the crates.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to obtain by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination, asupport,a form mounted thereon, a pivoted vertically swinging frame mounted at each side of the form, and provided with Slat-supporting notches and means for simultaneously swinging up these frames against the form and holding them there while the slats are being nailed.

2. In combination, asupport,a form mounted thereon, a vertically-swinging slat-supporting frame mounted at each side of the form and provided with an arm, as 14, extending inward under the form, a verticallymov able disk engaging the inner ends of all said arms, and means for drawing down said disk to bring the Slat-supporting frames against the form, and means for locking said disk in its depressed position and for limiting its upward movement, for the purposes set forth.

3. In combination, a support, a rectangular horizontally-rotatable form mounted thereon and carrying a vertically-swinging frame at each side provided with Slat-holding means and rotatable with the form, and means for moving these slab-carrying frames to and from the form and holding them against the form while the slats are being fastened.

4. In combination, a support, a central slitted tube rising therefrom, a verticallymoving block in said tube and means for depressing it, a verticallyslidable disk working on the tube and engaged by lugs on said block, a form, a Slat-supporting frame hinged at each side of the form and provided with a linger extending inward under said disk, for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination, asupport,a form mounted thereon and having cornerposts whose outer corners are beveled off vertically to form nail-clenching surfaces, and devices for holding the crate-slats and crate-posts against said posts while being nailed.

G. In combination, a support, a rectangular form having a vertical post at each corner whose outer corner is beveled off vertically to receive the triangular wooden posts of the crate and to clench the nails, triangular lugs, as-9, on the base of the form coincident with the'beveled corners of the posts, and means for holding the slats and crate-posts in position against said corner-posts while being nailed.

7. In combinatioma support,a form thereon having a substantially rectangular shape and composed of a base and a top frame connected by vertical corner-posts, the corner-posts having their outer corners beveled off vertically and two or more of the corner-bars of the npper frame having their outer corners beveled olf, these beveled corners meeting the beveled corners of the vertical posts, and means for holding the slats and posts and corner-strips of the crate in position while being nailed.

EBEE DECOVV. JAMES STEWART.

Vitnesses:

CHAs. C. HILL, W. N. JOHNSON. 

